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Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a s... more »on. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword...

"Vibrant, witty, compelling, the story is the stuff of which true dreams are made."-The Horn Book

Top Member Book Reviews

The companion novel to The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown was/is one of my favorite fantasy novels as a teenager because it featured a girl as the protaganist and her "coming-of-age"-type saga as she teaches herself the skills she needs to become the heroine of her land. All of Robin McKinley books are awesome, but this one holds a special place in my heart.

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Good book. I believe it is the background history for The Blue Sword (could be centuries?). It was good, but I liked The Blue Sword better. I got a bit confused at times about what was really happening, but some of that could be that I get just a little bit of time to read each night before I crash! I would recommend this book if you enjoy McKinley's books.

Fine book, great characters, good story. Magic, teen girl finding her heritage, standard stuff for McKinley in a way. Satisfying, and not dull. Mild sex scene in there, only a sentence or two. Enjoyable.